SOVIET ARMY TERMINOLOGY: 'GUARDS,' 'FRONTS,' 'ARMY'

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP82-00046R000400390005-0
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: September 21, 2009
• Sequence Number: 5
• Publication Date: March 7, 1955
• Content Type: REPORT

Approved For Release 2009/09/21 : CIA-RDP82-00046R000400390005-0
5
INFORMATION REPORT INFORMATION REMM
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
This material contains information affecting the National Defense of the United States within the meaning of the Espionage haws,
18, U.S.C. Secs. 793 and 794, the transmission or revelation of which in any manner to an unauthorized person is prohibited b325X1
CONFIDENTIAL
COUNTRY USSR
SUBJECT Soviet Army Terminology:
"Fronts," "Army"
DATE OF INFO.
PLACE ACQUIRED
DATE ACQUIRED
Comment: The "kontemirovskaya diviziya" menti
d i
one
n para-
graph 3 of the attached report has previously been reported, twice as
Kantgmirovskaya Tank Division and once as Kantmirovskaya Tank Division.
This division was summoned to Moscow at the time of the purge of
Lavrentiy Beriya.
25X1
25X1
ARMY review completed.
REQUIREMENT
REFERENCES
REPORT
"Guards, " DATE DISTR.
NO. OF PAGES
7 March 1955
NAVY,--~AIR FBI
(Note: Washington distribution indicated by "X"; Field distribution by
INFORMATION REPORT I N FORMATION
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 Approved For Release 2009/09/21 : CIA-RDP82-00046R000400390005-0
CONFIDENTIAL
REPORT
COUNTRY USSR
DATE DISTR. 28 .Ten. 1955
SUBJECT Soviet Army Terminology; "Guards", NO. OF PAGES 2
"Fronts", "Army"
DATE OF INFORMATION
PLACE ACQUIRED
THIS IS UNEVALUATED INFORMATION
History ;and Definition of the Term "Guards"'
1. The term "guards" was bestowed on Soviet units which distinguished
the s 1 d
m e
2.
ves wring World War Ii; however, since 1945, this practice has
stopped. The 8th Rifle Div,, commanded by Gen. Maj. Panfilov (fnu), was
the first unit to receive this honor which was given for its action in
the defense of Moscow. Since that time, this unit has been widely
eulo
ized
P
fi
g
.
an
lov was killed during the defense of Moscow
division-sized units and separate regiments had
wawa y een given the guards designation and in some instances, 25X1
army-sized units also received this honor.
ts were 25X1
there were discussions in which attem
p
made to determine correctly the exact status the term "guards" had in
it could not, generally, be construed^-----~ndicatea superior unit. The Lox's
only exception which indicated a difference 25X1
of troop qualit was the selected "guard" units which served in the
Moscow area. a "kontemirovskaya diviziya" was alleg-
edly used for show purposes, such as Para es an honor guard, in Moscow. 25X1
this division was composed of selected ers-
the troops 25X1
which guarded the Kremlin were selected"guards"ersonnel or possibly
MVD personnel disguised as "guards" rifle troops.
ZMIDENTIAL
25 YEAR
RE-REVIEW Approved For Release 2009/09/21: CIA-RDP82-00046R000400390005-0
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CONFIDENTIAL
12-
Privileges Given "Guards" Units and Personnel
uni.ti5 receivea Detter food
and.better-quality clothing than that given to other units. "Guards"
personnel also received more pay than regular units of the same arni,and
all "guards" members had the privilege of wearing the "guards" emblem.
Although "guards" units were considered 4
comparison
regular units, during the war and f
e
t
s
h
or a short
time
following
the
is
distinction was soon lost.
war, t
,7
"guards" members with better food, more pay, andeothertprivileges rewarding 25X1
halted immediately followin world War II
training was no different in guards units as compared to non-"guards
units even though much effort was expended to point up the glorious 25X1
past of the "guards" units. There was no special recruitment for "guards"
units.
Officially, all personnel serving in "guards" units were addressed as
"guards?. For example, "guards" private, "guards major", etc. The term
guards was used in all official
correspondence but the practice of
addressing personnel by that official title was not closely adhered to.
7. the time an individual was required to-serv in a 25X1
"guards" unit before he was off3cia11 known ae a "wards" member
was a out six month
W
s.
hen transferring from a "guards"25X1
unit to a non-"guards" unit,. personnel lost the title; when tra. ng
to another "guards" unit, the title was kept. the 25X1
Disci linar Re Mlat ons of the Qv'iet Army recommended exclusion from a
guars un as a orm or punishment u this punishment
results because the title had become cbeapeneduin the have any positive 25X1
because no loss of pay post-war years and
bee use . prestige, or rations occurred as it had during
Use of the Term "Army" and "Front"
8. It was commonly accepted that a unit con used of two or more rifle corps
was called an "army".
When an "army" consisted 'of a
preponderance of armor it was known as a 25X1
mechanized army" or a "separate mechanized army"
25X1
in some official ar 13
t
ore armies with attached units wa
in official Soviet terminology, during World War II, as.a "front"_
graphically an bumerieal -_ _"_ a-,~,=- Lwv -Lucnti~,z .ea Df tf geo- 25X1
graphically e.g., the Third Ukrainian Front. This ter-
minology was used in World War II and was not used following the war.
CONFIDENTIAL
era ture
a once composed of two or m
s kno wn25X1
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